Shelterwood Academy

Students can fall behind in school for a variety of reasons. They can struggle academically because of poor attendance, and failure to complete assignments. Some may face other circumstances, like anxiety or depression, which have made school more challenging. When a student falls behind, getting back on track feels impossible; but at Shelterwood, students get a fresh start and the opportunity to catch up and excel academically.

“The time and effort our teachers put into the students, combined with our clinical approach and credit recovery options, set the stage for success,” explains John Lawrence, Shelterwood Principal. “In most cases, students are able to catch up and move further along in their academic career.”

When a student arrives at Shelterwood, John and his team begin by assessing where the student is academically. “We look at what credits they have, what courses they may need to make up and what credits they will need to graduate.”

Shelterwood’s curriculum offers several options designed for credit recovery. “For incomplete or failed courses, students start with a pre-test. If they test out of the areas they already understand, then they can move past that unit and catch up more quickly,” John explains.

For some students, course completion can continue even after the student graduates from Shelterwood. “If a student has not made up all the needed credits while they are here on campus, they can complete their courses through our online platform,” John says. “Our goal is to help our students complete as many credits as possible, so they have the best chance for academic success when they return home.”

“Not only do we help students catch up, we also work with students who want to get ahead and finish early,” John says. Highly motivated students are able to complete two full years of school in one year’s time if they are consistent, disciplined and work hard. “We have students who took it upon themselves to work hard, gain additional credits and graduate early,” John shares. “They left Shelterwood with a fresh start.”

Students also benefit from our smaller class sizes at Shelterwood. Our students receive personal attention and academic support not always available in a traditional school setting.

The support of Shelterwood’s academic team can also make a big impact on student success, John explains. “Every student has an academic advisor, who monitors the student’s progress. We meet regularly as a team to discuss how each teen is doing, so they can be as successful as possible in their school setting,” he says.

When the barrier to academic success is emotional, such as anxiety in the classroom, Shelterwood helps students in those areas as well. “Therapists work with students on focus, drive and determination. Our goal is to help them get back in the classroom and to be successful in that setting, so they can get back on track,” John explains.

No matter where a child is academically, Shelterwood will help that student make the progress needed for success. “Students get back into the academic routine and practice what they are learning in a therapeutic setting. This sets the stage for them to catch up and find success in the classroom at Shelterwood and most importantly when they return home,” John says.

When a student completes coursework at an accredited school, those credits are transferrable to any other high school in the country. Especially for Shelterwood students, many of whom return to a home high school or continue on to higher education, accreditation makes all the difference. As Shelterwood Academy marks 20 years of accreditation, we explore why this is such a significant distinction.

Accreditation, explains Shelterwood Principal John Lawrence, is validation of Shelterwood’s academic program to any other educational organization. “Accreditation legitimizes what we’re doing here. AdvancedED is the governing body that backs us, saying our credits are valid and should be accepted elsewhere,” he says.

AdvancED (formerly North Central), with more than 100 years of work in school accreditation, AdvancED is unique in its commitment to not only certify a program, but help schools improve. In the accreditation assessment, Shelterwood was described as exceptional in our demonstration of standards, and exhibiting practices not commonly found in other schools.

Shelterwood was first accredited in 1996, John says. While the school is formally evaluated every five years, the AdvancED accreditation process is ongoing and improvement is continuous. “This is all about making changes to benefit students and always improve how we are educating them,” John says.

The accreditation process focuses on five key standards: purpose and direction, governance and leadership, teaching and assessing for learning, resources and support systems and using results for continuous improvement. The accreditation itself takes place over a two-day visit, with professionals from a variety of educational institutions on campus.

“They do everything from observations in the classroom, to interviews with teachers and faculty, to gathering parental input,” John explains, plus plenty of preliminary documentation and review.

“Because our accreditation commission comes to see what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, they can give us feedback, and challenge us on how to improve our school. We know what areas we need to work on for school improvement and how to help students in the classroom,” John says.

John, as well as several other teachers from Shelterwood, are also part of the AdvancED accreditation teams for other schools. “It is exciting for us to be able to share our expertise and also see how other institutions are improving.”

Accreditation benefits students long after they leave Shelterwood. John points to a student whose school back home in Texas was uncertain about accepting her Shelterwood credits. John simply contacted the state’s AdvancED representative, who facilitated the acquisition of the student’s credits. “It was because of AdvancED that the student was able to receive her full credits,” John says. “This made her transition back home far more seamless.”

“By continuing to make our school better through accreditation, we are helping students learn and grow,” John says. We’re proud of our commitment to accreditation and look forward to constant improvement. Accreditation is one more way that Shelterwood Academy provides an outstanding and valuable education for our students

“Some kids come to us not even interested in graduating high school, feeling that they were too far gone,” John says. “Others face issues in their high school, and Shelterwood provided them a way to continue school and education in a different setting. So for all our graduates, this is an exciting time in their lives.”

Students from the Shelterwood Class of 2016

Not only is graduation special for the students, it is meaningful for the Shelterwood team too. “This is a significant stepping stone for these students and we played a part in helping the student’s achievement come to fruition.”

The Shelterwood class of 2016 is made up of students with a variety of aspirations and ambitions. Some hope to be teachers, one wants to pursue sports therapy and some want to do social work. Our students’ fully-accredited diploma from Shelterwood means that they can go to college anywhere. Our graduates’ plans include work, community college, distance coursework and attendance at state universities.

Families and loved ones traveled from across the country to support their students. The graduation ceremony began with the traditional Pomp and Circumstance, and students entered the Shelterwood chapel in caps and gowns. A Shelterwood teacher continued the ceremony with a welcome and opening prayer. Another teacher gave a graduation charge, encouraging students to always look forward.

As students received their diplomas, a staff member read a short biography about the student’s hopes for the future, plans for school and what they want to accomplish. Students moved their tassel from one side to the other and graduation caps flew.

“Anytime we have a graduation, whether it’s graduation from high school or from the program, it’s fantastic for our other students too,” John says. “They get to see themselves in it, and see what’s possible.”

For staff, students and families, Shelterwood graduation represents obstacles overcome and dreams realized. “All of us are excited for graduation, because it celebrates what felt impossible before.”

Everyone on the Shelterwood team is committed to serving our students with excellence. That’s why we’re especially humbled and thankful to receive the NATSAP Gold Seal Award For Evidence-Based Outcomes. This designation is just the latest in our ongoing commitment to measure our success.

As one of the first recipients of this award, this designation demonstrates the positive outcomes taking place every day at Shelterwood, says Rujon Morrison, Program Director. “The bottom line is, what we’re doing here at Shelterwood is working, and the Gold Seal Award says we have the evidence to prove it.”

NATSAP, the National Association for Therapeutic Schools and Programs, was founded in 1999 as a national resource for programs and professionals assisting young people. From residential and wilderness programs to long-term care and transitional living, all NATSAP organizations are dedicated to serving children, adolescents or young adults.

One of NATSAP’s key endeavors is helping their member organizations conduct outcome studies. From this effort comes the Gold Seal program. To receive this designation, a minimum of 70% of Shelterwood students and parents must participate in and complete the outcome study on an annual basis.

The outcome study provides important scientific evidence to back up the Shelterwood program, Rujon adds. “It’s so important for us to know what we’re doing well and where our opportunities for growth are. We take what we’re doing here seriously, and there’s nothing quite like hard data to support our efforts.”

Also driving the study is Stacy DeVries, our Shelterwood Research Coordinator. Having worked for our ministry for more than 17 years, Stacey is committed to seeing and tracking student progress. Furthermore, her efforts help our therapy team track clients and interpret the results of these important surveys.

At Shelterwood, we’re gathering data from parents and students several times along the way: within a week of enrollment, upon departure, six months after discharge and then a year after discharge. These parameters mean we’re gathering long-term data, and we’re seeing restoration and transformation that lasts long after a student’s departure from Shelterwood.

“We’re very proud of this award,” Rujon says. “The Gold Seal demonstrates that the Shelterwood program has evidence-based treatment that creates reliable change. The outcome study provides that important scientific evidence that promotes what we’re doing here.”